PM accused of weak stance on Europe referendum

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Source: The Guardian

Conservative Eurosceptics on Sunday renewed calls for an early referendum on Britain's membership of the European Union after David Cameron's declaration that he was willing to consider one was criticised as too distant and non-committal.

An article written by Cameron in the Sunday Telegraph was dismissed as containing little new and critics within the Tory party repeated their call – which has been backed by a letter signed by 100 backbenchers – for legislation before 2015 committing the government to holding a referendum after the general election.

Cameron's article also highlighted tensions within the coalition over Europe, with Vince Cable, the Liberal Democrat business secretary, saying calls for a referendum were "horribly irrelevant" with the eurozone still in crisis.

William Hague, the foreign secretary, said the article did not amount to a change in the government's position. It seems to have been written partly to defuse anger generated when Cameron apparently ruled out a referendum on Friday – and partly to counter the former defence secretary Liam Fox, who is floating the idea of EU withdrawal.

Read more: http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2012/jul/01/david-cameron-europe-referendum-noncommittal

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1. I am increasingly worried about the debate on EU membership in the UK

It's being dominated by people who have not got the slightest clue about international trade, which is the biggest benefit we get from EU membership.

Contrary to what the likes of UKIP would have you believe, leaving the EU would greatly increase red tape and taxation in the form of import duties, which would make UK businesses much less competitive as it would be much less easy to export and would drive up the cost of imports (which would be very bad for our economy given how much we do import).

There is a lot about the EU that I dislike, but I do wish that debate on the subject of Europe could be just a little more nuanced. The "Europe right or wrong" mentality of some pro-EU types doesn't help either if I'm honest.